Bache – The Truth Hurts

I’ve been listening to the debut album from Cornish folk-pop outfit Bache for a few weeks now. Honestly, I don’t know what to make of it. The Truth Hurts, released on May 6th, is catchy, energetic and infectious. It’s also a little bit lost in places. Singer Andrew Bache has written a batch of songs that aren’t going to turn the world upside down but they are worth your time.

All of these songs are on subjects that we are all familiar with, love and loss. Being young and naive. There’s rebelliousness and regret. As I say, the wheel isn’t being reinvented here but Bache’s vocals are charming and there’s an endearing feel to the record overall. Where it falls down, for me, is in the flow of the songs.

The first three songs, which include two of the albums three singles, encompass the charm and infectious energy that make me want to see this band live (they’re from Cornwall and haven’t played Scotland to my knowledge). The next two songs… On first listen, I genuinely thought that they were one song, with a key change. ‘I’m So Sorry’ and ‘F*ck You’ both focus on a bad relationship, who with? Who knows… Both are good songs, the former more punchy and aggressive and the latter more tuneful, cleverer. Both say the same thing which I am sure is why they are placed together in the running order of the album but I think that takes away the impact of ‘F*ck You’. They also don’t feed into the second half of the album as smoothly as I would like.

The second half of the album draws on the more folky influences. It’s more melancholic and really brittle in parts, particularly ‘Runaway’ where the pain conveyed in Bache’s vocal is clear for all to hear. I will admit, it took several listens to accept that this was a good vocal performance. Initially I thought the vocals overpowered the backing guitar but it’s a song that has grown on me immensely. ‘Raise A Glass’ is the penultimate track but it really ought to be the closer. It’s probably a cliché to say a song lamenting loss and toasting the future should close the album but clichés are good things sometimes. The actual closer ‘Mainstream’ has a catchy chorus but, here we go with contradictions, it’s cliched and clunky. Maybe there’s a joke I’m not getting. It’s most probably a favourite live as I can imagine it being a bit of a singalong. I just don’t think it should have been the last song here.

In summary, The Truth Hurts is a more than decent album and I look forward to seeing Bache perform live, should they ever venture north. It just could have been better.